Futala Lake: ₹200 Crore Spent, Heritage Waterbody Still Struggles

thenewsdirt
Jun 13
8 min read

Futala Lake in Nagpur. ₹200 Crore Spent, Heritage Waterbody Still Struggles — Futala Lake: ₹200 Crore Spent, Heritage Waterbody Still Struggles

Nagpur's Futala Lake presents a stark contradiction today. Over ₹200 crore allocated for its beautification has yielded incomplete projects, environmental damage, and ongoing legal battles rather than the promised transformation.

The 225-year-old heritage lake, once a popular evening destination for city residents, now struggles with algae-infested waters, malfunctioning fountains, and crumbling infrastructure.

This situation reflects broader urban planning challenges faced across Vidarbha, where ambitious development schemes often fall short of their intended outcomes.

MahaMetro's Ambitious Vision Meets Reality

Infographics on Failed Projects at Futala lake in Nagpur — Failed Projects at Futala Lake in Nagpur

Nagpur Metro Rail Corporation launched its most extensive intervention at Futala Lake around 2020 under a Central Road Fund scheme worth ₹113 crore.

The blueprint promised a comprehensive redevelopment featuring a 350-metre covered viewing gallery accommodating 4,000 seats, a mechanised multi-level car park, and a new 2.86-kilometre cement-concrete road running behind the gallery.

Contractors working under PWD supervision began constructing the gallery with a tensile fabric roof and a dedicated projector room for multimedia shows. By mid-2021, MahaMetro officials declared the gallery and road works approximately 90% complete.

However, progress stalled completely as legal disputes and environmental violations emerged.

The controversy deepened with MahaMetro's parking plaza project on agricultural land owned by Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth.

The agency received state clearance in 2020 to build parking facilities with lower and upper basements plus G+5 floors on 65,000 square feet of PDKV land near the lake. After completing these core floors using CRF funds, MahaMetro proposed adding six additional commercial levels featuring shops, eateries, and a multiplex through private operators.

Citizens' groups immediately protested this development, arguing it violated agricultural land-use regulations and heritage protection norms.

NGO activist Abhijeet Jha warned of a "systematic plan to hand over agriculture land and open spaces to private parties" at Futala, claiming the lake had been "destroyed by side-lining the main work of conservation."

PDKV responded by referring MahaMetro's request for land-use change to relevant authorities, citing state policy that forbids using university farm land for non-agricultural purposes. The commercial conversion remains under review while the partially completed structure stands as a testament to premature planning.

MahaMetro's lakeside works encountered additional complications when the agency began constructing access roads and a plaza in the adjacent Bharat Van/Telangkhedi area without obtaining required clearances. In early 2023, a resident filed an RTI-based complaint alleging that Metro-built access roads and a parking-cum-restaurant plaza had encroached on green space without NMC or PWD approval.

The situation worsened in 2022 when MahaMetro dumped debris to reclaim a seasonal tributary feeding the lake.

Following media exposure and a public interest litigation, the agency was forced to halt and reverse this work. Authorities subsequently cleared mud from the stream and deepened it to restore proper outflow, but only after sustained public pressure.

This episode, along with damage to newly laid roads, highlighted how MahaMetro's construction proceeded without adequate scientific study or proper permits.

Engineering Failures and Municipal Mismanagement

The Nagpur Improvement Trust and Nagpur Metro Region Development Authority pursued their own ambitious projects at Futala with similarly disappointing results.

NIT announced a laser-multimedia show featuring music by AR Rahman and sound design by Resul Pookutty, financed partly through state tourism funds.

By 2020, however, NIT had failed to finalise even the show script, causing indefinite delays. NIT managers admitted the script remained pending before the steering committee despite recruiting creative consultants, with no launch date in sight. This pattern of incomplete projects has historical precedent at Futala.

NIT's musical fountain installations from the early 2000s had already become defunct by 2015, when a proposal emerged for a new ₹4.8 crore floating fountain.

The existing fountains were already non-functional at that point, highlighting persistent maintenance failures.

NMRDA separately awarded a ₹75 crore contract to Khalatkar Construction Company for an ambitious floating fountain project promoted as potentially the second longest in the world.

The structure featured over 580 underwater wires and was designed to create spectacular water displays. However, trials conducted before the March 2023 G-20 summit revealed severe technical problems.

Algae had infiltrated the mesh surrounding underwater pumps, causing the power systems to trip repeatedly during operation.

The fountain's maiden runs were plagued by these algae infestations, rendering the expensive installation largely unusable. NMRDA issued multiple notices to the contractor for missing handover deadlines, warning that the company's bank guarantee would be encashed to recover costs if the fountain was not made properly operational.

Municipal authorities also proposed installing a floating banquet hall, restaurant, and an artificial steel banyan tree directly on the lake.

Environmental lawyers cited these plans in court during 2023-24, arguing that the proposed 15,000 square feet of structures would violate wetland protection rules even if technically floating.

None of these ambitious structures ever reached the construction phase due to sustained legal challenges.

Basic maintenance issues compounded these engineering failures. Nagpur corporator Kamlesh Chowdhary pointed out in 2021 that a small breach in the lake's north-east retaining wall, known about for two years, finally collapsed further after monsoon rains. The deteriorating wall caused flooding on adjacent roads and endangered Ganesh immersion rituals.

Chowdhary blamed both NIT and NMC for allowing "the lake [to die] a slow death" through administrative apathy.

Green activist Kaustav Chatterjee from Vidarbha's Green Vigil Foundation called for a comprehensive structural audit of Futala's embankments and a review of how Metro projects might compromise the wall's integrity.

Legal Battles and Supreme Court Intervention

Faced with repeated delays and mounting environmental damage, activists turned to the courts for intervention. Beginning in 2022-23, the Swacch Association of Nagpur, led by Anasuya Chhabrani, filed a public interest litigation in the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court.

Petitioners emphasised Futala's Grade-I heritage status and its listing in the National Wetland Atlas, arguing that constructions like the viewing gallery, parking plaza, and proposed lake banquets violated environmental protection laws.

In January 2023, the High Court issued notices to MahaMetro, NMC, NIT, and NMRDA. Petitioners demanded the removal of already-built musical fountains and a halt to all new structures, asserting that "works at the lake are in complete violation of norms as the lake has all essential characteristics of a wetland." They also urged demolition of unauthorised floors in the parking plaza built on PDKV land.

On 1 December 2023, the Bombay High Court delivered its verdict. The division bench acknowledged Futala's heritage value but ruled it was a "man-made water body" constructed in 1799 rather than a legal wetland, leading to the disposal of the PIL.

The court nonetheless directed vigilance, ordering MahaMetro and NMC to "ensure that the water body is kept clean and properly maintained" regarding any proposed floating structures, invoking constitutional duties under Articles 48A and 51A(g) to protect the environment.

The state's position faced a challenge at the Supreme Court level. In late January 2024, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud granted an interim stay on all construction at Futala.

Senior counsel Gopal Shankaranarayanan, representing Swacch, highlighted that the Union Ministry of Environment had listed Futala as a wetland in 2017. He reminded the court that Futala, spanning approximately 200 hectares, was both a designated wetland and Grade I heritage precinct.

The Supreme Court strongly reprimanded the Maharashtra government for claiming Futala was merely man-made, noting this contradicted the state's own earlier classification.

The bench ordered status quo, prohibiting further work on floating stages, restaurants, or the banyan structure pending a full hearing. The court's message was direct: "Do not mess around with nature."

Environmental Deterioration and Public Health Concerns

While authorities debated permissions and contractors struggled with technical failures, Futala Lake itself continued deteriorating rapidly.

Environmental surveys have confirmed that the lake suffers from severe nutrient overload, with "excessive carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus load" causing "heavy growth of water hyacinth and algae."

These invasive plants now cover significant portions of the lake's surface. During the summer months, the situation becomes particularly acute. In 2023 and 2024, local media described Futala as a "graveyard of fish" as dead carp and tilapia floated near shorelines.

Environmental scientist Kaustav Chatterjee explained that summer heat stratification combined with rampant sewage discharge reduces dissolved oxygen levels, triggering these fish kills.

Mahesh Sahu, a Futala-area resident, described the impact on daily life: "The stench is too intense and unhygienic because of the dead fish. It's not the first time that fish have died in the lake." Morning joggers and evening walkers have begun avoiding the area due to unbearable odours.

The problem stems largely from unchecked sewage discharge from surrounding settlements. Despite municipal acknowledgement that sewage inflow is the primary cause of pollution, little action has been taken to plug the drains. At least two major sewage outlets continue discharging directly into the lake, while municipal cleaning efforts remain irregular and insufficient.

Water quality has deteriorated to the point where algae films and oil slicks make steps and promenades hazardous for visitors.

Paving tiles installed under beautification schemes have become slippery due to algae growth, creating safety concerns. Flower garlands, plastic bags, and food waste regularly float near the steps, while water hyacinth has begun encroaching into the lake's main channels.

The failure of expensive development projects has only worsened environmental conditions. Fountains and gallery components sit unused in increasingly polluted water, with algae having damaged crucial fountain wiring systems. The multi-level parking pavilion required tree-felling during construction, further degrading the catchment area while providing no environmental benefits.

An April 2024 survey confirmed the lake's critical condition, documenting excessive nutrient loads that continue fueling invasive plant growth. Without urgent remediation efforts addressing both sewage discharge and comprehensive water treatment, environmental experts warn that Futala will continue its decline.

The situation at Futala reflects broader challenges across Vidarbha, where urban transformation projects often prioritise infrastructure development over environmental sustainability.

Citizens' groups note that sewage-related pollution has affected multiple water bodies throughout the region, with Futala's fate serving as a cautionary example of what happens when development proceeds without adequate environmental safeguards.

Public outcry has intensified as residents witness the contrast between enormous expenditures and visible deterioration.

The Supreme Court has recognised protecting Futala Lake as a "prime" question of environmental and heritage preservation, though authorities and community groups remain at odds over the path forward.

Until comprehensive solutions address both pollution sources and development oversight, this 225-year-old heritage lake continues to face an uncertain future despite the hundreds of crores invested in its supposed restoration.